Bangladesh to seek time frame from Myanmar

Foreign secys meet today

Diplomatic Correspondent

Dhaka will seek a specific time frame from Nay Pyi Taw for repatriation of over 30,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh living in two refugee camps in Cox's Bazar during a foreign secretary level meeting in Dhaka today.

Apart from discussing the documented refugees, Dhaka will also raise the issue of some 300,000 to 500,000 undocumented Myanmarese nationals, who intruded in Bangladesh over the past years.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque and Myanmar Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Thant Kyaw will lead their respective delegations at the one-day meeting at the foreign ministry.

Dhaka firmly believes that the relations between the two neighbors would reach to a newer height once the Rohingya issue is resolved.

“Both documented and undocumented Myanmar nationals currently living in Bangladesh must go back to Myanmar,” said a foreign ministry official.

According to the ministry sources both the sides will also discuss security and border management issues to find some “confidence building” measures to boost trust between the two countries and develop a “well-managed modern” border system.

At the meeting, the two sides will discuss trade and commerce issues and try to identify the barriers apart from discussing connectivity issue in a broader sense in the context of BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) and BIMSTEC (the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).

Bangladesh will discuss introducing coastal shipping line for boosting tourism which is a part of tri-nation, India-Bangladesh-Myanmar, initiative.

Dhaka is also expected to propose for signing an umbrella or comprehensive framework agreement with Nay Pyi Taw for future cooperation in the areas of security, energy, economy and overall development.